Author Thesis Paper

Throughout your educational career, your texts are chosen for you. For this unit, you will be in charge of choosing the author you would like to study. The requirements are that the author must be American, this is an American Literature class after all, and you must be able to acquire at least 3 of their short stories. Other than that, you have free reign to choose an author you already love or go discover someone new.

In the end, you will be writing a comparison essay based around a central theme in the author's works.

Online Discussion Board

Due Tuesday, March 3rd by midnight. February is African American History Month. For this discussion board. In honor of this month, nominate an African American figure who has made a positive contribution to our society. Title your post with the figure's name. You may not repeat a peer's nomination, so the earlier you post, the easier it will be.

1. Your original nomination

2. Add on to another student's nomination

Vocabulary Practice

Since we do not have the vocabulary books this year, you might want a little more practice than what we do in class. Here are 2 websites that have practice exercises and quizzes.

VocabTest.com - This site provides several different types of quizzes.

Vocabulary Workshop - This is the official website associated with the words we are using. They provide audio (to hear how to pronounce it) and several games to practice the words.

Vocabulary.com - This website is a better version of a dictionary. Halfway down on the right of this website you will see example sentences taken from the current news using whatever word you searched. You can choose based on a subject, or just scroll through. If you're having a hard time when how to use the word in a sentence, check these out.

Reminders about the Discussion Board

1. You need to give specifics with your responses so that people have ideas to build off of. Minimum response is 3 sentences long.

2. You get very little credit if you just say "I agree". You need to explain why you agree with the statements. Even more exciting is to disagree (respectfully of course)

3. If there is an article to read, you have to show that you have read the article. While quotes are not required, they are always a nice way to give people something to relate to.

4. You are trying to start a discussion. Ask questions, relate to your own life. Discuss things that you hadn't thought about before. Make the discussion engaging.

Handouts

Spelling and Grammar are Important!

The Great Gatsby

A classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that captures the values and mindset of upper class in the 1920s. Here is a world where money is flowing like water and there is no worry of what might come - the Great Depression has not happened, there has not been a recession - wealthy people did whatever they wanted with no worries about the repercussions. Now imagine desperately wanting to be part of that world. A love story , a story of the power and corruption of money, a story of the flawed American Dream.

The Catcher in the Rye

A quintessential tale of coming of age, J.D. Salinger's novel follows Holden Caulfield over the course of 3 days in NYC as he tries to figure out how to cope with his past and find a direction for his future. Even more than 50 years later, this novel still resonates with the angst of growing up in an imperfect world.

Catcher Controversy

Read through the following articles and websites and answer the questions on your worksheet. Next class you will be debating whether or not The Catcher in the Rye should be banned/taught in a high school classroom. The evidence will come from these articles and your understanding of the novel.

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansberry's play was seen as ahead of its time. Hansberry was the first African American female to be featured on Broadway. She established a voice for women and African Americans during a time of racism in the late 1950s. A Raisin in the Sun never leaves the Younger's living room, but it doesn't have to in order to show the audience all the struggles an African American and a female must endure.

Transcendentalism & Dark Romanticism

Heading back to the 1830s seems like another lifetime; however, the ideas of writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville are still relevant today. You use the saying YOLO? Well, Thoreau expresses that same idea. To understand why our society values the ideas it does, it's important to go back to the thinkers of the past.

American Speech Unit

There is more power in words than any other force. It is with words that change occurs; that people are inspired; that society comes together. It is one thing to be able to use words; it is quite another to use them effectively. This unit looks at what makes a great speech and asks each of you to create your own great speech.

We want to hear your voice, your ideas, your passion. Be inspired by those that have come before you, but also embrace who you are.